A flow-difference feedback iteration method and its application to high-speed aerostatic journal bearings

•A novel iteration method is proposed for FDM based solution of the Reynolds equation.•The flow-difference is utilized for feedback in the iteration loop of the pressure ratios of orifices.•The proposed method is insensitive to the initial conditions; and its iteration times are significantly improved.•The investigation is conducted for the bearing capability and stiffness affected by geometric parameters.•It is shown that under some suggested conditions the performance of the journal bearing can be improved.

This paper proposes a novel iteration method for finite difference method (FDM) based solution of Reynolds equation, and applies it to the analysis of high-speed aerostatic journal bearings. The idea behind the proposed iteration method is: flow-difference is utilized for feedback in the iteration loop of the pressure ratios of orifices. Furthermore, the situation of flow-difference is described by the relative error of flow equilibria during the iteration. Specifically, two important advantages of the proposed method lie in: insensitive to initial conditions; its times of iteration are significantly improved. The bearing capability and stiffness are investigated by varying design parameters.